Traffic Information Update Method and Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A traffic information update method includes recognizing, by a terminal, a first traffic sign from a road image; detecting whether traffic information of the terminal includes first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; if the traffic information of the terminal does not include the first alert information, generating a traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign; and sending the traffic sign adding instruction to a server. After finding a new traffic sign, the terminal may report a content indication and a location indication of the traffic sign to the server such that the server can directly update traffic information according to the information reported by the terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application of International PatentApplication No. PCT/CN2015/080181, filed on May 29, 2015, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to the data processing field, and in particular,to a traffic information update method and apparatus.

BACKGROUND

With development of mobile terminal technologies, a navigation terminalthat can provide services such as navigation, positioning, and routeplanning is more favored by motor vehicle drivers. In addition tonavigation, positioning, and route planning functions, an existingnavigation terminal generally has a traffic sign alert function. Afterthe traffic sign alert function is enabled, when a vehicle approaches atraffic sign, the navigation terminal can alert a driver to the trafficsign, thereby improving driving safety.

To implement the traffic sign alert function of the navigation terminal,a manufacturer of the navigation terminal needs to pre-store a group oftraffic information in the navigation terminal. The traffic informationmay include several pieces of alert information. Each piece of alertinformation corresponds to one traffic sign, and each piece of alertinformation may include content of multiple parts such as a location andcontent of the traffic sign corresponding to the alert information.After the traffic sign alert function is enabled, the navigationterminal may determine, according to a current location of the vehicleand locations that are included in the alert information and that are oftraffic signs, whether there is a traffic sign within a pre-determineddistance in a heading direction of the vehicle. If there is a trafficsign within the pre-determined distance in the heading direction of thevehicle, the navigation terminal may notify, in advance in an image orsound form, a driver of content of the traffic sign ahead, to alert thedriver to the traffic sign ahead on a road.

It can be learned from above that, an implementation of the traffic signalert function of the navigation terminal totally depends on the trafficinformation on the navigation terminal. However, during actual use,there are a large quantity of traffic signs that are widely distributed,and new traffic signs are set up one after another as time goes by.Therefore, the manufacturer of the navigation terminal usually needs tocontinually send technical personnel to collect location information andcontent information of the traffic signs, then manually update trafficinformation of a server according to the information collected by thetechnical personnel, and update traffic information of each terminalaccording to the traffic information of the server, to ensure timelinessand integrity of the traffic information of the server and the trafficinformation of the terminal. However, the practice of sending technicalpersonnel to collect location information and content information of thetraffic signs wastes human and material resources, and has poortimeliness.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a traffic information updatemethod and apparatus, to resolve prior-art problems that trafficinformation update wastes human resources and has poor timeliness.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure provides atraffic information update method, where the method includesrecognizing, by a terminal, a first traffic sign from a road image;detecting, by the terminal, whether traffic information of the terminalincludes first alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign; if the traffic information of the terminal does not include thefirst alert information, generating, by the terminal, a traffic signadding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign; and sending,by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction to a server, wherethe traffic sign adding instruction is used to instruct the server toadd second alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign totraffic information of the server.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementationof the first aspect, the detecting, by the terminal, whether trafficinformation of the terminal includes first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign includes obtaining, by theterminal, a first location of the first traffic sign; obtaining, by theterminal, first content of the first traffic sign; detecting, by theterminal, whether there is alert information, corresponding to a trafficsign, at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal;and if there is no alert information at the first location in thetraffic information of the terminal, determining, by the terminal, thatthe traffic information of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign; or if there isalert information at the first location in the traffic information ofthe terminal, detecting, by the terminal, whether the alert informationat the first location includes the first content, and if the alertinformation at the first location does not include the first content,determining, by the terminal, that the traffic information of theterminal does not include the first alert information.

With reference to the first aspect, in a second possible implementationof the first aspect, the detecting, by the terminal, whether trafficinformation of the terminal includes first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign includes obtaining, by theterminal, a first location and first content of the first traffic sign;detecting, by the terminal, whether the first alert information matchingthe first content exists at the first location in the trafficinformation of the terminal; and if the first alert information does notexist at the first location, determining, by the terminal, that thetraffic information of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspector the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a thirdpossible implementation of the first aspect, the generating, by theterminal, a traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the firsttraffic sign includes generating, by the terminal, a traffic sign addinginstruction that includes the first location and the first content.

With reference to the third possible implementation of the first aspect,in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, before thegenerating, by the terminal, a traffic sign adding instructioncorresponding to the first traffic sign, the method further includesdetermining, by the terminal, a pointing direction of the first trafficsign; and the generating, by the terminal, a traffic sign addinginstruction corresponding to the first traffic sign includes generating,by the terminal, a traffic sign adding instruction that includes thefirst location, the first content, and the pointing direction.

With reference to any one of the first aspect or the first to the fourthpossible implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation of the first aspect, the method further includes, if thetraffic information of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation, generating, by the terminal, the first alert information;and adding, by the terminal, the first alert information to the trafficinformation of the terminal.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure furtherprovides another traffic information update method, where the methodincludes receiving, by a server, a traffic sign adding instruction sentby a first terminal, where the traffic sign adding instruction isgenerated by the first terminal after the first terminal recognizes afirst traffic sign from a road image, and is used to instruct the serverto add second alert information corresponding to the first traffic signto traffic information of the server; generating, by the server, thesecond alert information; adding, by the server, the second alertinformation to the traffic information of the server; and generating, bythe server, update information according to traffic information that isof the server and that is obtained after the second alert information isadded, to update traffic information of a second terminal.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementationof the second aspect, the generating, by the server, the second alertinformation includes determining, by the server, whether the trafficinformation of the server includes alert information corresponding tothe first traffic sign; and when the traffic information of the serverdoes not include the alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign, generating, by the server, the second alert informationcorresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction.

With reference to the second aspect, in a second possible implementationof the second aspect, the adding, by the server, the second alertinformation to the traffic information of the server includesdetermining, by the server, whether the traffic information of theserver includes alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign; and when the traffic information of the server does not includethe alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign, adding,by the server, the second alert information to the traffic informationof the server.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the secondaspect, in a third possible implementation of the second aspect, thegenerating, by the server, the second alert information corresponding tothe traffic sign adding instruction includes, when the traffic signadding instruction includes first content and a first location,generating, by the server, alert information that includes the firstcontent and the first location.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the secondaspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, thegenerating, by the server, the second alert information corresponding tothe traffic sign adding instruction includes, when the traffic signadding instruction includes first content, a first location, and apointing direction, generating, by the server, alert information thatincludes the first content, the first location, and the pointingdirection.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure provides atraffic information update apparatus, where the apparatus includes arecognition unit configured to recognize a traffic sign from a roadimage; a detection unit configured to detect whether traffic informationof the terminal includes first alert information corresponding to thefirst traffic sign; a generation unit configured to, when the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation, generate a traffic sign adding instruction corresponding tothe first traffic sign; and a sending unit configured to send thetraffic sign adding instruction to a server, where the traffic signadding instruction is used to instruct the server to add second alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign to trafficinformation of the server.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementationof the third aspect, the detection unit includes a first obtainingsubunit configured to obtain a first location and first content of thefirst traffic sign; a detection subunit configured to detect whetherthere is alert information, corresponding to a traffic sign, at thefirst location in the traffic information of the terminal; and a firstjudging subunit configured to, when there is no alert information at thefirst location in the traffic information of the terminal, determinethat the traffic information of the terminal does not include the firstalert information corresponding to the first traffic sign, where thefirst detection subunit is further configured to, when there is alertinformation at the first location in the traffic information of theterminal, detect whether the alert information at the first locationincludes the first content; and the first judging subunit is furtherconfigured to, when the alert information at the first location does notinclude the first content, determine that the traffic information of theterminal does not include the first alert information.

With reference to the third aspect, in a second possible implementationof the third aspect, the detection unit includes a second obtainingsubunit configured to obtain a first location and first content of thefirst traffic sign; a second detection subunit configured to detectwhether the first alert information matching the first content exists atthe first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and asecond judging subunit configured to, when the first alert informationdoes not exist at the first location, determine that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the third aspector the second possible implementation of the third aspect, in a thirdpossible implementation of the third aspect, the generation unit isconfigured to generate a traffic sign adding instruction that includesthe first location and the first content.

With reference to the third possible implementation of the third aspect,in a fourth possible implementation of the third aspect, the generationunit includes a determining subunit configured to determine a pointingdirection of the first traffic sign; and a generation subunit configuredto generate a traffic sign adding instruction that includes the firstlocation, the first content, and the pointing direction.

With reference to any one of the third aspect or the first to the fourthpossible implementations of the third aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a newinformation generation unit configured to, if the traffic information ofthe terminal does not include the first alert information, generate thefirst alert information; and an adding unit configured to add the firstalert information to the traffic information of the terminal.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure furtherprovides another traffic information update apparatus, where theapparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receive a traffic signadding instruction sent by a first terminal, where the traffic signadding instruction is generated by the first terminal after the firstterminal recognizes a first traffic sign from a road image, and is usedto instruct a server to add second alert information corresponding tothe first traffic sign to traffic information of the server; ageneration unit configured to generate the second alert information; anadding unit configured to add the second alert information to thetraffic information of the server; and an update unit configured toupdate traffic information of a second terminal according to trafficinformation that is of the server and that is obtained after the secondalert information is added.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the fourth aspect, the generation unit includes a first judgingsubunit configured to determine whether the traffic information of theserver includes alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign; and a generation subunit configured to, when the trafficinformation of the server does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign, generate the second alertinformation corresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementationof the fourth aspect, the adding unit includes a second judging subunitconfigured to determine whether the traffic information of the serverincludes alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; andan adding subunit configured to, when the traffic information of theserver does not include the alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign, add the second alert information to the trafficinformation of the server.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the fourthaspect, in a third possible implementation of the fourth aspect, thegeneration subunit is configured to, when the traffic sign addinginstruction includes first content and a first location, generate alertinformation that includes the first content and the first location.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the fourthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the fourth aspect, thegeneration subunit is configured to, when the traffic sign addinginstruction includes first content, a first location, and a pointingdirection, generate alert information that includes the first content,the first location, and the pointing direction.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure furtherprovides a terminal, where the terminal includes a processor, an inputunit, a communications unit, and a memory, and the processor, the inputunit, the communications unit, and the memory communicate with eachother by using a bus; the input unit is configured to obtain a roadimage; the memory is configured to store traffic information of theterminal; the processor unit is configured to recognize a first trafficsign from the road image; detect whether the traffic information of theterminal includes first alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign; and when the traffic information of the terminal does notinclude the first alert information, generate a traffic sign addinginstruction corresponding to the first traffic sign; and thecommunications unit is configured to send the traffic sign addinginstruction to a server, where the traffic sign adding instruction isused to instruct the server to add second alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign to traffic information of theserver.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the fifth aspect, the processor is further configured to obtain afirst location of the first traffic sign; obtain first content of thefirst traffic sign; detect, by the terminal, whether there is alertinformation, corresponding to a traffic sign, at the first location inthe traffic information of the terminal; and if there is no alertinformation at the first location in the traffic information of theterminal, determine that the traffic information of the terminal doesnot include the first alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign; or if there is alert information at the first location inthe traffic information of the terminal, detect whether the alertinformation at the first location includes the first content, and if thealert information at the first location does not include the firstcontent, determine that the traffic information of the terminal does notinclude the first alert information.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementationof the fifth aspect, the processor is further configured to obtain afirst location and first content of the first traffic sign; detectwhether the first alert information matching the first content exists atthe first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and ifthe first alert information does not exist at the first location,determine that the traffic information of the terminal does not includethe first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure furtherprovides a traffic information update server, where the server includesa processor, a communications unit, and a memory, and the processor, thecommunications unit, and the memory communicate with each other by usinga bus; the memory is configured to store traffic information; thecommunications unit is configured to receive a traffic sign addinginstruction sent by a first terminal, where the traffic sign addinginstruction is generated by the first terminal after the first terminalrecognizes a first traffic sign from a road image, and is used toinstruct the server to add second alert information corresponding to thefirst traffic sign to the traffic information of the server; and theprocessor is configured to generate the second alert information; addthe second alert information to the traffic information of the server;and generate update information according to traffic information that isof the server and that is obtained after the second alert information isadded, to update traffic information of a second terminal.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the sixth aspect, the processor is further configured to determinewhether the traffic information of the server includes alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign; and when the trafficinformation of the server does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign, generate the second alertinformation corresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementationof the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation of the sixthaspect, the processor is further configured to, when the traffic signadding instruction includes first content and a first location, generatealert information that includes the first content and the firstlocation.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementationof the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementation of the sixthaspect, the processor is further configured to, when the traffic signadding instruction includes first content, a first location, and apointing direction, generate alert information that includes the firstcontent, the first location, and the pointing direction.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the terminal recognizes the firsttraffic sign from the road image; detects whether the trafficinformation of the terminal includes the first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign; if the traffic information ofthe terminal does not include the first alert information, generates thetraffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign;and sends the traffic sign adding instruction to the server, where thetraffic sign adding instruction is used to instruct the server to addthe second alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign tothe traffic information of the server. By using the embodiments of thedisclosure, after finding a new traffic sign, the terminal may report acontent indication and a location indication of the traffic sign to theserver, so that the server can directly update the traffic informationaccording to the information reported by the terminal, thereby avoidingwaste of human and material resources, and improving timeliness inupdating the traffic information of the server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosuremore clearly, the following describes the accompanying drawings requiredfor describing the embodiments. A person of ordinary skill in the artmay still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings withoutcreative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of a trafficinformation update method according to the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of another embodiment of a trafficinformation update method according to the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a trafficinformation update apparatus according to the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of atraffic information update apparatus according to the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a terminalaccording to the disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a traffic information updateserver according to the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make a person skilled in the art better understand the solutions inthe disclosure, the following clearly describes the technical solutionsin the embodiments of the disclosure with reference to accompanyingdrawings in the embodiments of the disclosure. The described embodimentsare merely some rather than all of the embodiments of the disclosure.All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the artbased on the embodiments of the disclosure without creative effortsshall fall within the protection scope of the disclosure.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, a location indication may begenerally a longitude and latitude coordinate point, or may be alongitude and latitude coordinate range, or may be relative coordinatesor a coordinate range obtained by using a reference point as acoordinate origin.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, traffic information is stored in aterminal or a server, to provide, for a user, navigation-relatedinformation such as a road guide or a traffic alert. For example, a userdeparts from a place A to a place B, and a terminal in which trafficinformation is stored or installed may prompt, when the user drives on aroad C, the user to turn from an intersection D to a road E to reach theplace B. When the user drives on the road C, the terminal may prompt theuser to control a driving speed to be lower than 80, because there is aspeed limit sign on the road that indicates a speed limit of 80. Thetraffic information may be stored in the terminal or the server in adatabase form, or may be stored in another form. This is not limited inthe disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a trafficinformation update method according to the disclosure. The method shownin this embodiment may be performed by a terminal disposed on a vehicle.The terminal may include a professional navigation terminal such as adriving safety alert device, a navigator, or an in-vehicle head updisplay (HUD), or may include a mobile terminal that can implement anavigation or driving safety alert function, such as a mobile phone or atablet computer.

Step 101. The terminal recognizes a first traffic sign from a roadimage.

When the terminal has a real-time image obtaining function, the terminalcan independently obtain the road image. When the terminal does not havethe real-time image obtaining function, the terminal may obtain the roadimage from another device. Generally, the road image is also referred toas a road condition image, and is an image obtained by an image captureapparatus by photographing a road surface of a road and regions on twosides of the road.

When the terminal is a device that has the image obtaining function,such as a mobile phone, the terminal may obtain the road image by usinga camera of the terminal. When the terminal is a device that does nothave the image obtaining function, such as a navigator, the terminal mayobtain the road image from another device such as an event data recordermounted on a vehicle. When the terminal can obtain the road image inmultiple manners, the terminal may select one of the manners accordingto a preset condition to obtain the road image, or may obtain roadimages in the multiple manners at the same time.

During actual use, the terminal may be fastened to the vehicle, andcontinuously obtain road images during vehicle driving. The road imagemay be a picture or may be a video. The first traffic sign is a trafficsign included in the road image. When the road image is a real-timeimage, the terminal may obtain the road image and recognize the firsttraffic sign from the road image at the same time, so as to recognizethe first traffic sign from the real-time road image in real time.

For a specific manner of recognizing the first traffic sign from theroad image by the terminal, refer to an existing image recognitiontechnology. Details are not described herein.

Step 102. The terminal detects whether traffic information of theterminal includes first alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign.

After recognizing the first traffic sign from the road image, theterminal may obtain first content and a first location of the firsttraffic sign, and then determine, based on an exact match, whether thetraffic information includes alert information corresponding to thetraffic sign.

In an embodiment, the terminal first obtains the first location and thefirst content of the first traffic sign; then detects whether the firstalert information matching the first content exists at the firstlocation in the traffic information of the terminal. If the first alertinformation does not exist at the first location, the terminaldetermines that the traffic information of the terminal does not includethe first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign.

For example, when the first traffic sign is a speed limit sign boardthat indicates a speed limit of 80, the terminal may obtain firstcontent “speed limit 80” and a first location “longitude and latitudecoordinates (A, B)”; and then query whether alert informationcorresponding to the traffic sign whose longitude and latitudecoordinates are (A, B) and whose content indication is “speed limit 80”exists in the traffic information of the terminal. If the alertinformation does not exist, the terminal may determine that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign. When the road image is an imageobtained by the terminal in real time during vehicle driving, thelongitude and latitude coordinates (A, B) of the speed limit sign boardmay be current longitude and latitude coordinates of the terminal, ormay be longitude and latitude coordinates calculated according to thecurrent longitude and latitude coordinates of the terminal.

To accelerate a detection speed, the terminal may determine, by means ofdetection in stages, whether the traffic information includes the alertinformation corresponding to the traffic sign.

In an embodiment, the terminal obtains the first location of the firsttraffic sign. The terminal obtains the first content of the firsttraffic sign. The terminal detects whether there is alert information,corresponding to a traffic sign, at the first location in the trafficinformation of the terminal. If there is no alert information at thefirst location in the traffic information of the terminal, the terminaldetermines that the traffic information of the terminal does not includethe first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign. Ifthere is alert information at the first location in the trafficinformation of the terminal, the terminal detects whether the alertinformation at the first location includes the first content. If thealert information at the first location does not include the firstcontent, the terminal determines that the traffic information of theterminal does not include the first alert information. The terminal maysimultaneously obtain the first location and the first content, or mayobtain the first content after determining that there is alertinformation at the first location of the traffic information. This isnot limited in the disclosure.

For example, when the first traffic sign is the speed limit sign boardthat indicates the speed limit of 80, the terminal may first obtain thefirst location “longitude and latitude coordinates (A, B)”, and thenquery whether alert information corresponding to the traffic sign whoselongitude and latitude coordinates are (A, B) exists in the trafficinformation of the terminal. If the alert information corresponding tothe traffic sign whose longitude and latitude coordinates are (A, B)does not exist, the terminal may directly determine that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign. If the alert informationcorresponding to the traffic sign whose longitude and latitudecoordinates are (A, B) exists, the terminal may further obtain the firstcontent “speed limit 80”, and further determine whether the alertinformation corresponding to the traffic sign whose longitude andlatitude coordinates are (A, B) includes alert information whose contentis the speed limit of 80. If the alert information does not exist, theterminal may determine that the traffic information of the terminal doesnot include the alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign. If the alert information exists, the terminal may determine thatthe traffic information of the terminal includes the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign.

Step 103. If the traffic information of the terminal does not includethe first alert information, the terminal generates a traffic signadding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign.

If the terminal finds, by means of detection, that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation, the terminal may generate a traffic sign adding instructionthat includes the first location and the first content.

Because the traffic sign is directional, different traffic signs may beset up for different driving directions on a same road. For example, insome special road sections, a same highway has different speed limits indifferent directions. Therefore, different speed limit signs are set upfor the different directions. To make the alert information moreaccurate, before the terminal generates a traffic sign addinginstruction corresponding to the first traffic sign, the method furtherincludes determining, by the terminal, a pointing direction of the firsttraffic sign. That the terminal generates a traffic sign addinginstruction corresponding to the first traffic sign includes generating,by the terminal, a traffic sign adding instruction that includes thefirst location, the first content, and the pointing direction. Thepointing direction is used to indicate a direction to which the firsttraffic sign points. The terminal and a server may determine thepointing direction of the first traffic sign according to the pointingdirection. The pointing direction of the first traffic sign may be anabsolute direction to which the traffic sign points, for example, anortheast direction or a due south direction; or may be a relativedirection that is relative to a current vehicle driving direction, forexample, a relative direction such as a right ahead direction of thecurrent vehicle driving direction.

For example, when the first location is the longitude and latitudecoordinates (A, B) and the first content is the “speed limit 80”, if thetraffic information of the terminal does not include the alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign, the terminal maygenerate a traffic sign adding instruction. The traffic sign addinginstruction may include the longitude and latitude coordinates (A, B)and the “speed limit 80”. When the terminal determines that the pointingdirection of the first traffic sign is a north direction, the trafficsign adding instruction may further include the pointing direction“north direction”.

Step 104. The terminal sends the traffic sign adding instruction to aserver, where the traffic sign adding instruction is used to instructthe server to add second alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign to traffic information of the server.

After generating traffic sign adding information, the terminal may sendthe traffic sign adding instruction to the traffic information updateserver. After receiving the traffic sign adding instruction, the serveradds, to the traffic information of the server, the alert informationthat is corresponding to the traffic sign and that is newly added by theserver, so as to update the traffic information of the server.

By using this embodiment, after finding a new traffic sign, the terminalmay report a content indication and a location indication of the trafficsign to the server, so that the server can directly update the trafficinformation according to the information reported by the terminal,thereby avoiding problems of waste of human and material resources andpoor timeliness that are caused when the traffic information of theserver is updated according to information collected by technicalpersonnel.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a trafficinformation update method according to the disclosure. The method shownin this embodiment may be performed by a server.

Step 201. The server receives a traffic sign adding instruction sent bya first terminal, where the traffic sign adding instruction is generatedby the first terminal after the first terminal recognizes a firsttraffic sign from a road image, and is used to instruct the server toadd second alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign totraffic information of the server.

The server first receives the traffic sign adding instruction sent bythe first terminal. The traffic sign adding instruction may includefirst content and a first location of the first traffic sign. Inaddition, the traffic sign adding instruction may further include apointing direction. The pointing direction is used to indicate adirection to which the first traffic sign points. For content includedin the traffic sign adding instruction and a manner of generating thetraffic sign adding instruction, refer to the foregoing embodiment.Details are not described herein again.

Step 202. The server generates the second alert informationcorresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction.

After receiving the traffic sign adding instruction, the server maydirectly generate the second alert information corresponding to thetraffic sign adding instruction. To avoid repeatedly adding same alertinformation, the server determines whether the traffic information ofthe server includes alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign. Only when the traffic information of the server does not includethe alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign, theserver generates the second alert information corresponding to thetraffic sign adding instruction.

After receiving the traffic sign adding instruction, the server mayfirst obtain the first location and the first content in the trafficsign adding instruction, and then detect whether first alert informationmatching the first content exists at the first location of the trafficinformation of the server. If the first alert information does not existat the first location, the server may determine that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign.

Alternatively, after receiving the traffic sign adding instruction, theserver may obtain the first location and the first content of the firsttraffic sign, and then detect whether there is alert information,corresponding to a traffic sign, at the first location of the trafficinformation of the server. If there is no alert information at the firstlocation of the traffic information of the server, the server maydetermine that the traffic information of the server does not includethe first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign. Ifthere is alert information at the first location of the trafficinformation of the server, the server may further detect whether thealert information at the first location includes the first content. Ifthe alert information at the first location does not include the firstcontent, the server determines that the traffic information of theserver does not include the first alert information.

A specific manner of detecting, by the server, whether the trafficinformation of the server includes the first alert information issimilar to a specific manner of detecting, by the terminal, whethertraffic information of the terminal includes the first alertinformation. For the specific manner, refer to a correspondingdescription in the foregoing embodiment. Details are not describedherein again.

According to different content included in the traffic sign addinginstruction, the second alert information includes different contentaccordingly. When the traffic sign adding instruction includes the firstcontent and the first location, the server generates alert informationthat includes the first content and the first location. When the trafficsign adding instruction includes the first content, the first location,and the pointing direction, the server generates alert information thatincludes the first content, the first location, and the pointingdirection.

Step 203. Add, to the original traffic information of the server, signinformation newly added by the server, to obtain traffic information ofthe server.

After generating the second alert information, the server may directlyadd, to the original traffic information of the server, the signinformation newly added by the server. To avoid repeatedly adding samealert information, the server may first determine whether the originaltraffic information of the server includes alert informationcorresponding to the to-be-added traffic sign. Only when the originaltraffic information of the server does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the traffic sign, the sign information newly added bythe server is added to the original traffic information of the server.For a specific manner of determining whether the original trafficinformation of the server includes alert information corresponding tothe to-be-added traffic sign, refer to the foregoing description.Details are not described herein again.

Step 204. The server generates update information according to thetraffic information that is of the server and that is obtained after thesecond alert information is added, to update traffic information of asecond terminal.

After the traffic information of the server is obtained after theoriginal traffic information of the server is updated, the server mayfurther update the traffic information on the second terminal. Thesecond terminal may be the first terminal, or may be another terminaldifferent from the first terminal.

Alternatively, the server may not perform step 204. After adding thesecond alert information, the server may notify the second terminal thatthere is an updated version of the traffic information, and a user maychoose to perform an update or not. Alternatively, the server may notnotify the second terminal, and a user of the second terminal may learnwhether there is an updated version of the traffic information, and thendownload the updated version on line for update or directly go to amanufacturer providing the traffic information or another place storingthe traffic information for manual update.

After adding the second alert information to the traffic information,the server may send the traffic information of the server to the secondterminal, and instruct the second terminal to replace the originaltraffic information on the second terminal with the traffic informationsent by the server, so as to update the traffic information on thesecond terminal.

The traffic information of the server usually has a relatively largeamount of data, and much time needs to be consumed to send the entiretraffic information of the server to the second terminal. In addition,there is usually only a little different data between the trafficinformation of the server and the original traffic information of thesecond terminal. Therefore, to reduce the time consumed for update, theserver may determine incremental alert information when a pre-determinedupdate condition is met. The incremental alert information is alertinformation that is included in the traffic information of the serverbut that is not included in the traffic information of the secondterminal. Then, the incremental alert information is sent to the secondterminal, so that the second terminal adds the incremental alertinformation to the traffic information of the second terminal.

In an embodiment, after the second terminal establishes a networkconnection to the server, the server may first detect alert informationincluded in the traffic information of the second terminal; then comparethe alert information included in the traffic information of the secondterminal with that included in the traffic information of the server, todetermine the incremental alert information; and then send theincremental alert information to the second terminal. After receivingthe incremental alert information, the second terminal may add theincremental alert information to the traffic information of the secondterminal, so as to update the traffic information of the secondterminal.

For example, when determining, by means of detection, that the trafficinformation of the server includes 10 pieces of alert information withnumbers 1 to 10 and the traffic information on the second terminalincludes only eight pieces of alert information with numbers 1 to 8, theserver determines that alert information with numbers 9 and 10 isincremental alert information. The server may send only the alertinformation with numbers 9 and 10 to the second terminal. Afterreceiving the alert information with numbers 9 and 10, the secondterminal adds the two pieces of alert information to the trafficinformation stored in the second terminal, so as to update the trafficinformation of the second terminal.

By using this embodiment, the server can directly update the trafficinformation according to the information reported by the terminal,thereby avoiding problems of waste of human and material resources andpoor timeliness that are caused when the traffic information of theserver is updated according to information collected by technicalpersonnel.

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of anembodiment of a traffic information update apparatus according to thedisclosure. The apparatus may be disposed on a terminal, and isconfigured to perform the traffic information update method shown inFIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus may include a recognition unit 301, adetection unit 302, a generation unit 303, and a sending unit 304.

The recognition unit 301 is configured to recognize a traffic sign froma road image. The detection unit 302 is configured to detect whethertraffic information of the terminal includes first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign. The generation unit 303 isconfigured to, when the traffic information of the terminal does notinclude the first alert information, generate a traffic sign addinginstruction corresponding to the first traffic sign. The sending unit304 is configured to send the traffic sign adding instruction to aserver. The traffic sign adding instruction is used to instruct theserver to add second alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign to traffic information of the server.

Optionally, the detection unit 302 may include a first obtaining subunitconfigured to obtain a first location and first content of the firsttraffic sign; a detection subunit configured to detect whether there isalert information, corresponding to a traffic sign, at the firstlocation in the traffic information of the terminal; and a first judgingsubunit configured to, when there is no alert information at the firstlocation in the traffic information of the terminal, determine that thetraffic information of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign. The first detectionsubunit is further configured to, when there is alert information at thefirst location in the traffic information of the terminal, detectwhether the alert information at the first location includes the firstcontent. The first judging subunit is further configured to, when thealert information at the first location does not include the firstcontent, determine that the traffic information of the terminal does notinclude the first alert information.

Alternatively, the detection unit 302 may include a second obtainingsubunit configured to obtain a first location and first content of thefirst traffic sign; a second detection subunit configured to detectwhether the first alert information matching the first content exists atthe first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and asecond judging subunit configured to, when the first alert informationdoes not exist at the first location, determine that the trafficinformation of the terminal does not include the first alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign.

Optionally, the generation unit 303 is configured to generate a trafficsign adding instruction that includes the first location and the firstcontent.

Alternatively, the generation unit 303 may include a determining subunitconfigured to determine a pointing direction of the first traffic sign;and a generation subunit configured to generate a traffic sign addinginstruction that includes the first location, the first content, and thepointing direction.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a new informationgeneration unit configured to, if the traffic information of theterminal does not include the first alert information, generate thefirst alert information; and an adding unit configured to add the firstalert information to the traffic information of the terminal.

By using this embodiment, after finding a new traffic sign, the trafficinformation update apparatus may report a content indication and alocation indication of the traffic sign to the server, so that theserver can directly update the traffic information according to theinformation reported by the terminal, thereby avoiding problems of wasteof human and material resources and poor timeliness that are caused whenthe traffic information of the server is updated according toinformation collected by technical personnel.

Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of anembodiment of a traffic information update apparatus according to thedisclosure. The apparatus may be disposed on a server, and is configuredto perform the traffic information update method shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus may include a receiving unit 401, ageneration unit 402, an adding unit 403, and an update unit 404.

The receiving unit 401 is configured to receive a traffic sign addinginstruction sent by a first terminal. The traffic sign addinginstruction is generated by the first terminal after the first terminalrecognizes a first traffic sign from a road image, and is used toinstruct the server to add second alert information corresponding to thefirst traffic sign to traffic information of the server. The generationunit 402 is configured to generate the second alert information. Theadding unit 403 is configured to add the second alert information to thetraffic information of the server. The update unit 404 is configured togenerate update information according to traffic information that is ofthe server and that is obtained after the second alert information isadded, to update traffic information of a second terminal.

Optionally, the generation unit 402 includes a first judging subunitconfigured to determine whether the traffic information of the serverincludes alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; anda generation subunit configured to, when the traffic information of theserver does not include the alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign, generate the second alert information corresponding to thetraffic sign adding instruction. The generation subunit may beconfigured to, when the traffic sign adding instruction includes firstcontent and a first location, generate alert information that includesthe first content and the first location. Alternatively, the generationsubunit may be configured to, when the traffic sign adding instructionincludes first content, a first location, and a pointing direction,generate alert information that includes the first content, the firstlocation, and the pointing direction.

Optionally, the adding unit 403 includes a second judging subunitconfigured to determine whether the traffic information of the serverincludes alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; andan adding subunit configured to, when the traffic information of theserver does not include the alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign, add the second alert information to the trafficinformation of the server.

Optionally, the update unit 404 includes an incremental informationdetermining subunit configured to determine incremental alertinformation, where the incremental alert information is alertinformation that is included in the traffic information of the serverbut that is not included in the traffic information of the secondterminal; and an incremental information sending subunit configured tosend the incremental alert information to the second terminal, so thatthe second terminal adds the incremental alert information to thetraffic information of the second terminal.

By using this embodiment, the traffic information update apparatus candirectly update the traffic information according to the informationreported by the terminal, thereby avoiding problems of waste of humanand material resources and poor timeliness that are caused when thetraffic information of the server is updated according to informationcollected by technical personnel.

Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of anembodiment of a terminal according to the embodiments of the disclosure.The terminal may be configured to perform the traffic information updatemethod shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 500 includes a processor 501, an inputunit 502, a communications unit 503, and a memory 504. These componentscommunicate with each other by using one or more buses. A person skilledin the art may understand that a structure of the terminal shown in thefigure does not constitute a limitation on the disclosure. The terminalmay be in a bus type structure, or may be in a star type structure, andmay include more or fewer parts than those shown in the figure, or someparts may be combined, or a different part deployment may be used.

The input unit 502 is configured to implement interaction between a userand the terminal and/or input information to the terminal. For example,the input unit 502 may obtain a road image, and may further receivedigit or character information entered by the user, and generate signalinput related to user setting and functional control. In a specificimplementation of the disclosure, the input unit 502 may include anapparatus for obtaining external information, for example, a cameraconfigured to independently obtain the road image. Alternatively, theapparatus for obtaining external information does not include thecamera, and the input unit 502 is configured to obtain the road imagefrom another device. The input unit 502 may further include a touchpanel, or may include another human-computer interaction interface, forexample, a physical input key or a microphone.

The processor 501 is a control center of the terminal, is connected toall parts of the entire terminal by using various interfaces and lines,and performs various functions of the terminal and/or data processing byrunning or executing a software program and/or a module that are/isstored in the memory 504 and invoking data stored in the memory 504. Theprocessor 501 may include an integrated circuit (IC), for example, mayinclude a single packaged IC, or may include multiple packaged ICs thatare connected and that have a same function or different functions. Forexample, the processor 501 may include only a central processing unit(CPU), or may be a combination of a graphics processor unit (GPU), adigital signal processor (DSP), and a control chip (for example, abaseband chip) in the communications unit 503. In an implementation ofthe disclosure, the CPU may include a single computing core, or mayinclude multiple computing cores.

The communications unit 503 is configured to establish a communicationchannel, so that the terminal is connected to a remote server by usingthe communication channel, and the remote server can send data to theterminal or the terminal can download media data from the remote server.The communications unit 503 may include communications modules such as awireless local area network (wireless LAN) module, a Bluetooth module,and a baseband module; and a radio frequency (RF) circuit that iscorresponding to the communications modules and that is configured toperform wireless local area network communication, Bluetoothcommunication, infrared communication, and/or cellular communicationssystem communication, for example, Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (W-CDMA) and/or High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). Thecommunications modules are configured to control communication of thecomponents in the terminal, and can support direct memory access (DMA).

In different implementations of the disclosure, the communicationsmodules in the communications unit 503 generally appear in a form of anIC Chip, and may be selectively combined, and not all of thecommunications modules and corresponding antenna groups are necessarilyincluded. For example, the communications unit 503 may include only abaseband chip, a radio frequency chip, and a corresponding antenna, toprovide a communication function in a cellular communications system.The terminal may be connected to a cellular network) or the Internet byusing a wireless communication connection established by thecommunications unit 503, for example, by means of wireless LAN or WCDMAaccess. In some optional implementations of the disclosure, thecommunications module, for example, the baseband module, in thecommunications unit 503 may be integrated into the processor 501, and atypical example is an APQ+MDM series platform provided by the Qualcomm®company.

The radio frequency circuit is configured to receive and send signalsduring an information transceiving process or during a call. Forexample, after the radio frequency circuit receives downlink informationfrom a base station, the processor 501 processes the downlinkinformation. In addition, the radio frequency circuit sends relateduplink data to the base station. Generally, the radio frequency circuitincludes a known circuit for performing these functions, including butnot limited to an antenna system, a radio frequency transceiver, one ormore amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a DSP, a codec chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM), a memory, and the like. Inaddition, the RF circuit may further communicate with a network andanother device by means of wireless communication. The wirelesscommunication may use any communication standard or protocol, includingbut not limited to a, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), aGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA), WCDMA, a High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology,Long Term Evolution (LTE), an email, a Short Message Service (SMS), andthe like.

The memory 504 may be configured to store the software program and themodule. The processor 501 performs various functional applications ofthe terminal and implements data processing by running the softwareprogram and the module that are stored in the memory 504. The memory 504mainly includes a program storage area and a data storage area. Theprogram storage area may store an operating system and an applicationprogram, such as a sound play program or an image display program thatis required by at least one function. The data storage area may storedata (such as audio data and an address book) created according to useof the terminal and the like. In a specific implementation of thedisclosure, the memory 504 may include a volatile memory, for example, anonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM), a phase change random accessmemory (PRAM), or a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), andmay further include a nonvolatile memory, for example, at least onemagnetic disk storage device, an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory device, such as anegative-OR (NOR) flash memory or a negative-AND (NAND) flash memory.The nonvolatile memory stores the operating system and the applicationprogram that are executed by the processor. The processor loads, fromthe nonvolatile memory, a running program and data to a memory, andstores digital content in a massive storage apparatus. The operatingsystem includes various components and/or drives that are configured tocontrol and manage conventional system tasks, such as memory management,storage device control, and management of a power supply 507, and arehelpful for communication between various types of software andhardware. In an implementation of the disclosure, the operating systemmay be an Android system of the Google® company, an iOS system developedby the Apple® company, or a Windows® operating system developed by theMicrosoft® company, or an embedded operating system such as Vxworks®.

Optionally, the terminal may further include an output unit. The outputunit includes but is not limited to an image output unit and a soundoutput unit. The image output unit is configured to output a text, apicture, and/or a video. The image output unit may include a displaypanel, for example, a display panel configured in a form of an LiquidCrystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), a fieldemission display (FED), or the like. Alternatively, the image outputunit may include a reflective display, for example, an electrophoreticdisplay, or a display for which an interferometric modulation of lighttechnology is used. The image output unit may include a single displayor multiple displays in different sizes. In a specific implementation ofthe disclosure, the touch panel used in the input unit 502 may also beused as the display panel of the output unit. For example, afterdetecting a touch operation on the touch panel or a gesture operationnear the touch panel, the touch panel transfers the operation to theprocessor, to determine a type of a touch event. Then, the processorprovides corresponding visual output on the display panel according tothe type of the touch event. Although in FIG. 1, the input unit 502 andthe output unit are used as two separate parts to implement input andoutput functions of the terminal, in some embodiments, the touch paneland the display panel may be integrated to implement the input andoutput functions of the terminal. For example, the image output unit maydisplay various graphical user interfaces (GUI) as virtual controlcomponents, including but not limited to a window, a scroll bar, anicon, and a clipboard, so that the user performs operation in a touchmanner. In this embodiment of the disclosure, the sound output unit mayinclude a digital-to-analog converter, a speaker, and the like, and maybe configured to output alert information in traffic information.

In this embodiment of the disclosure, the input unit 502 is configuredto obtain the road image.

The processor 501 is configured to recognize a first traffic sign fromthe road image; detect whether traffic information of the terminalincludes first alert information corresponding to the first trafficsign; and when the traffic information of the terminal does not includethe first alert information, generate a traffic sign adding instructioncorresponding to the first traffic sign.

The communications unit 502 is configured to send the traffic signadding instruction to a server. The traffic sign adding instruction isused to instruct the server to add second alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign to traffic information of theserver.

Optionally, the processor 501 may be further configured to obtain afirst location of the first traffic sign; obtain first content of thefirst traffic sign; detect, by the terminal, whether there is alertinformation, corresponding to a traffic sign, at the first location inthe traffic information of the terminal; and if there is no alertinformation at the first location in the traffic information of theterminal, determine that the traffic information of the terminal doesnot include the first alert information corresponding to the firsttraffic sign; or if there is alert information at the first location inthe traffic information of the terminal, detect whether the alertinformation at the first location includes the first content, and if thealert information at the first location does not include the firstcontent, determine that the traffic information of the terminal does notinclude the first alert information.

Optionally, the processor 501 is further configured to obtain a firstlocation and first content of the first traffic sign; detect whether thefirst alert information matching the first content exists at the firstlocation in the traffic information of the terminal; and if the firstalert information does not exist at the first location, determine thatthe traffic information of the terminal does not include the first alertinformation corresponding to the first traffic sign.

Optionally, the processor 501 is further configured to generate atraffic sign adding instruction that includes the first location and thefirst content.

Optionally, the processor 501 is further configured to determine apointing direction of the first traffic sign; and generate a trafficsign adding instruction that includes the first location, the firstcontent, and the pointing direction. Optionally, the processor 501 isfurther configured to, when the traffic information of the terminal doesnot include the first alert information, generate the first alertinformation; and add, by the terminal, the first alert information tothe traffic information of the terminal.

By using this embodiment, after finding a new traffic sign, the terminalmay report a content indication and a location indication of the trafficsign to the server, so that the server can directly update the trafficinformation according to the information reported by the terminal,thereby avoiding problems of waste of human and material resources andpoor timeliness that are caused when the traffic information of theserver is updated according to information collected by technicalpersonnel.

Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of anembodiment of a traffic information update server according to thedisclosure. The server may be configured to perform the trafficinformation update method shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 6, the server includes a processor 601, acommunications unit 602, and a memory 603. These components communicatewith each other by using one or more buses. A person skilled in the artmay understand that a structure of the server shown in the figure doesnot constitute a limitation on the disclosure. The server may be in abus type structure, or may be in a star type structure, and may includemore or fewer parts than those shown in the figure, or some parts may becombined, or a different part deployment may be used.

The processor 601 is a control center of the electronic device, isconnected to all parts of the entire electronic device by using variousinterfaces and lines, and performs various functions of the electronicdevice and/or data processing by running or executing a software programand/or a module that are/is stored in the memory 603 and invoking datastored in the memory 603. The processor 601 may include an IC, forexample, may include a single packaged IC, or may include multiplepackaged ICs that are connected and that have a same function ordifferent functions. For example, the processor 601 may include only aCPU , or may be a combination of a GPU, a DSP, and a control chip (forexample, a baseband chip) in the communications unit 602. In animplementation of the disclosure, the CPU may include a single computingcore, or may include multiple computing cores.

The communications unit 602 is configured to establish a communicationchannel, so that the server is connected to a terminal or another serverby using the communication channel, for communication. For example, theserver may receive a message sent by the terminal, and may also return aresponse message to the terminal or send, to the terminal, datacorresponding to the message sent by the terminal. This is not limitedin this embodiment of the disclosure.

The memory 603 may be configured to store the software program and themodule. The processor performs various functional applications of theserver and implements data processing by running the software programand the module that are stored in the memory 603.

The communications unit 602 is configured to receive a traffic signadding instruction sent by a first terminal. The traffic sign addinginstruction is generated by the first terminal after the first terminalrecognizes a first traffic sign from a road image, and is used toinstruct the server to add second alert information corresponding to thefirst traffic sign to traffic information of the server.

The processor 601 is configured to generate the second alertinformation; add the second alert information to the traffic informationof the server; and generate update information according to trafficinformation that is of the server and that is obtained after the secondalert information is added, to update traffic information of a secondterminal.

Optionally, the communications unit 602 is further configured to sendthe update information to the second terminal, to instruct the secondterminal to update the traffic information of the second terminal.

Optionally, the processor 601 may be further configured to determinewhether the traffic information of the server includes alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign; and when the trafficinformation of the server does not include the alert informationcorresponding to the first traffic sign, generate the second alertinformation corresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction.

Optionally, the processor 601 may be further configured to, when thetraffic sign adding instruction includes first content and a firstlocation, generate alert information that includes the first content andthe first location.

Optionally, the processor 601 may be further configured to, when thetraffic sign adding instruction includes first content, a firstlocation, and a pointing direction, generate alert information thatincludes the first content, the first location, and the pointingdirection.

Optionally, the processor 601 may be further configured to determineincremental alert information. The incremental alert information isalert information that is included in the traffic information of theserver but that is not included in the traffic information of the secondterminal; and determine incremental alert information, where theincremental alert information is alert information that is included inthe traffic information of the server but that is not included in thetraffic information of the second terminal.

By using this embodiment, the server can directly update the trafficinformation according to the information reported by the terminal,thereby avoiding problems of waste of human and material resources andpoor timeliness that are caused when the traffic information of theserver is updated according to information collected by technicalpersonnel.

During specific implementation, the disclosure further provides acomputer storage medium. The computer storage medium may store aprogram, and when the program is executed, some or all of the steps inthe embodiments of the traffic information update methods provided inthe disclosure may be performed. The storage medium may be a magneticdisk, an optical disc, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory(RAM), or the like.

A person skilled in the art may clearly understand that the technologiesin the embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented by software inaddition to a necessary general hardware platform. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of the disclosure essentially orthe part contributing to the prior art may be implemented in a form of asoftware product. The software product may be stored in a storagemedium, such as a ROM/RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc, andincludes several instructions for instructing a computer device (whichmay be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to performthe methods described in the embodiments or some parts of theembodiments of the disclosure.

The embodiments in this specification are all described in a progressivemanner. For same or similar parts in the embodiments, refer to theseembodiments. Each embodiment focuses on a difference from otherembodiments. Especially, apparatus, server, and system embodiments arebasically similar to the method embodiments, and therefore are describedbriefly. For related parts, refer to partial descriptions in the methodembodiments.

The foregoing descriptions are implementations of the disclosure, butare not intended to limit the protection scope of the disclosure. Anymodification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made withoutdeparting from the spirit and principle of the disclosure shall fallwithin the protection scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is: 1-29. (canceled)
 30. A traffic information update method, comprising: recognizing, by a terminal, a first traffic sign from a road image; detecting, by the terminal, whether traffic information of the terminal comprises first alert information associated with the first traffic sign; generating, by the terminal, a traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign when the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information; and sending, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction to a server, wherein the traffic sign adding instruction is used to instruct the server to add second alert information associated with the first traffic sign corresponding to traffic information of the server.
 31. The method according to claim 30, wherein detecting, by the terminal, whether the traffic information of the terminal comprises first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign comprises: obtaining, by the terminal, a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detecting, by the terminal, whether there is alert information associated with a traffic sign at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determining, by the terminal, that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information associated with the first traffic sign when there is no alert information at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal.
 32. The method according to claim 30, wherein detecting, by the terminal, whether the traffic information of the terminal comprises first alert information associated with the first traffic sign comprises: obtaining, by the terminal, a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detecting, by the terminal, whether the first alert information matching the first content exists at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determining, by the terminal, that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information associated with the first traffic sign when the first alert information does not exist at the first location.
 33. The method according to claim 31, wherein generating, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign comprises generating, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction that comprises the first location and the first content.
 34. The method according to claim 33, wherein before generating, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign, the method further comprises determining, by the terminal, a pointing direction of the first traffic sign, and wherein generating, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign comprises generating, by the terminal, the traffic sign adding instruction that comprises the first location, the first content, and the pointing direction.
 35. The method according to claim 30, further comprising: generating, by the terminal, the first alert information when the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information; and adding, by the terminal, the first alert information to the traffic information of the terminal.
 36. A terminal for updating traffic information, comprising: a processor; an input device configured to obtain a road image; a communications device; and a memory storing traffic information of the terminal, wherein the processor, the input device, the communications device, and the memory communicate via a bus, and wherein the processor is configured to: recognize a first traffic sign from the road image; detect whether the traffic information of the terminal comprises first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; and generate a traffic sign adding instruction corresponding to the first traffic sign when the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information, wherein the communications device is configured to send the traffic sign adding instruction to a server, and wherein the traffic sign adding instruction is used to instruct the server to add second alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign to traffic information of the server.
 37. The terminal according to claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detect, whether there is alert information, associated with a traffic sign, at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determine that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign when there is no alert information at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal.
 38. The terminal according to claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detect whether the first alert information matching the first content exists at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determine that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information associated with the first traffic sign when the first alert information does not exist at the first location.
 39. The terminal according to claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to: generate the first alert information; and add the first alert information to the traffic information of the terminal, when the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information.
 40. A traffic information update server, comprising: a processor; a communications device configured to receive a traffic sign adding instruction from a first terminal, and a memory configured to store traffic information, wherein the processor, the communications device, and the memory communicate via a bus, wherein the traffic sign adding instruction is received from the first terminal based on recognizing a first traffic sign from a road image, wherein the traffic sign adding instruction is used by the server to add second alert information associated with the first traffic sign to the traffic information of the server, and wherein the processor is configured to: generate the second alert information; add the second alert information to the traffic information of the server; and generate update information, according to the traffic information of the server that is obtained after the second alert information is added, to update traffic information of a second terminal.
 41. The server according to claim 40, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine whether the traffic information of the server comprises alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign; and generate the second alert information corresponding to the traffic sign adding instruction when the traffic information of the server does not comprise the alert information associated with the first traffic sign.
 42. The server according to claim 40, wherein the processor is further configured to generate alert information that comprises first content and first location when the traffic sign adding instruction comprises the first content and the first location.
 43. The server according to claim 40, wherein the processor is further configured to generate alert information that comprises first content, first location, and pointing direction when the traffic sign adding instruction comprises the first content, the first location, and the pointing direction.
 44. The method according to claim 30, wherein detecting, by the terminal, whether the traffic information of the terminal comprises first alert information corresponding to the first traffic sign comprises: obtaining, by the terminal, a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detecting, by the terminal, whether there is alert information, corresponding to a traffic sign, at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; detecting, by the terminal, whether the alert information at the first location comprises the first content when there is alert information at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determining, by the terminal, that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information when the alert information at the first location does not comprise the first content.
 45. The terminal according to claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain a first location and first content of the first traffic sign; detect whether there is alert information associated with a traffic sign at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; detect whether the alert information at the first location comprises the first content when there is alert information at the first location in the traffic information of the terminal; and determine that the traffic information of the terminal does not comprise the first alert information when the alert information at the first location does not comprise the first content. 